Mind the Gap: Incorporating Human Rights into the Curricula of Undergraduate Business Programmes

Abstract

Business and Human Rights (BHR) education in business schools can play a crucial role in strengthening the protection of human rights and the environment by providing future business leaders the tools to address the adverse social and environmental impacts of business activities. At the undergraduate level, the lack of BHR education in business schools is a missed opportunity to provide students with the understanding that human rights are a transversal issue to business from the start of their business education. This research aims to highlight the urgent need of integrating BHR education into undergraduate business programmes, as well as to discuss its current and ideal practice. To achieve this goal, the author carried out 15 semi-structured interviews with BHR experts and performed a qualitative analysis of the generated data and eight undergraduate BHR-related course syllabi. The study found there is a consensus regarding the optimal learning outcomes, teaching methods and content of BHR courses or modules, as well as the need for a compulsory introduction to BHR for all undergraduate business students as part of their degree. The ideal incorporation of BHR in the curriculum would be a specialised BHR stand-alone course or module combined with a curricular emphasis on BHR, which would require concerted effort from a multidisciplinary educational committee. Keywords: Business and Human Rights, human rights education, business schools, education, teaching.